kale smoothies

kale smoothies

Fri May 12, 2017 6:19 am

so my old blender that I had for decades finally died and I got a nice new one. I have kale in the garden getting huge. I haven't done anything with it so far, while I've been focusing on keeping up with the swiss chard. I know about using kale as a green in soups, stir fries, etc. But any one have a good kale smoothie recipe they like (kale and fruits or veggies or both) that TASTES good as well as is nutritious? I keep hearing about how healthy they are, but it always sounds pretty strange to me.

Re: kale smoothies

Fri May 12, 2017 7:35 am

I have one that my friend makes. She uses different things every time but here is what goes in the NinjaWashed and chopped kale with the midribs removed and frozenFrozen fruit bananas, grapes, watermelon, orange, papaya, berries, mango, pineapple, peaches, whatever you have. Crushed ice or ice cubes Almond milk (you can use regular milk, but a lot of us are lactose intollerant)celeryapplesflax seedpeanut butter adds extra proteinHoney optional. If the fruit is sweet you don't have to add sugar. Almond milk is also sweetnuts are optional Add to blender and blend until smooth. Serve immediately. Very high in fiber so don't drink more than one glass.

applestar wrote:Today's smoothie was so balanced in flavors that none stood out -- not sweet, not tart/sour, not salty, not bitter.... But strangely so delicious that my DD stood up and poured herself a 2nd glass as soon as she finished her 1st, then spooned out the clinging remains... DH stopped by while out for lunch so I gave him a small portion in a yellow and blue glass to hide its color, and he downed it saying it was delicious (very unusual)... I nearly finished my own 2nd serving before remembering to pause and take a picture.

BTW, I gave a kale rib to one of the cats as a joke and she munched it up , so I put a few more in their food dish. The 2nd kitty came along and two of them chewed and crunched and ate them all up. Funny cats...I think 2nd DD has been forgetting to give them their vitamins.

Yep looks like Red Russian Kale which I've been letting go to seed and they self seed everywhere. Very good eating. Young leaves are good for salads and older bigger leaves for kale chips and sneaking into smoothies for the kids to drink their veggies.

They particularly liked Banana, Kale, Kiwi combo. Recently, DD said, you added kale didn't you? The smoothie wasn't this green -- it was more like pale yellow -- when I saw it last, then I walked away and now it looks greener! But they loved it anyway. This one was banana, mango, and avocado + kale.

Sea Salt and pink Himalayan sea salt. Finally, about a cup of ice cubes and blend smooth. (I have to do a lot of blending in stages because I have an underpowered blender)

I gave DH his in a small 6 oz glass since its was only his 2nd time drinking one of my green kale smoothies -- my girls and I got ours in 8 oz and 12 oz glasses twice and 1/2 serving more -- DH actually asked for 2nd serving, then when I asked who wants to finish it, he was the first one to raise his empty glass for a third serving.

I made a Korean cold buckwheat noodles the other day. It comes in a package with 2 servings of thin fresh noodles and 2 bags of "radish broth" I was trying it for the first time and had no idea what to expect, so ate 1st serving as is. Yesterday, I made the second serving by blending several huge leaves of Bok Choi, kale, radish and broccoli with the packaged broth into very dark green smoothie, then pouring over the cooked chilled noodles. Torn up nori on top as garnish. Very very green and yummy.

...if you freeze them whole, the tender frozen leaves crumble off of the ribs in the freezer bag, and the ribs can be easily pulled out or left in the bag

Learning never ends because we can share what we've learned. And in sharing our collective experiences, we gain deeper understanding of what we learned.

Re: kale smoothies

Fri May 12, 2017 12:19 pm

BTW I learned early on that if you add red things, the Kale-based smoothie turns an unattractive brown-ish color. At that point, you might as well add molasses and cocoa and make it a chocolate smoothie.

Learning never ends because we can share what we've learned. And in sharing our collective experiences, we gain deeper understanding of what we learned.

Re: kale smoothies

Sat May 13, 2017 7:08 pm

Yes, the layered look for smoothies is more appetizing than brown smoothies.I like that they make smoothies in the garden. That's about as fresh as you can get. If you ever see some of their exercise routines, you'd be amazed. They live a very healthy lifestyle. Hiking, smoothies, mangoes, Costa Rica retreats, etc.

"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt."Margaret Atwood

Re: kale smoothies

Mon May 15, 2017 3:40 pm

OK so I made my first ever kale smoothie: 5 large kale leaves destemmed, one frozen banana, some peaches, some greek yoghurt, some soy milk. But after blending it a long time in my brand new blender that even has a button labeled "green smoothie," it was still all full of little leaf flakes. Is it supposed to be able to blend it smooth? I did not freeze the kale, since some of applestar's recipes said garden fresh. If I had frozen it, would that help it blend smooth? Taste wasn't bad. Not quite what I would call delicious, but definitely drinkable. But I don't find all the little leaf pieces in my drink to make a very pleasant drinking experience.

Re: kale smoothies

Mon May 15, 2017 5:07 pm

I think frozen kale leave definitely start out more tender. Kale leaves go limp pretty easily in a salad as soon as they are hit with dressing though, so you might start by covering with the liquid first and giving it 5 minutes or so? I think that's what I did. You could also try adding ice cubes from the beginning to help beat them up more.

Another option might be to strain them out with medium strainer and use the strained bits in something else -- omelet or breakfast muffin/pancakes maybe?

Learning never ends because we can share what we've learned. And in sharing our collective experiences, we gain deeper understanding of what we learned.

Re: kale smoothies

Kale is supposed to be less bitter if it is frozen before eating. But we put everything in the blender frozen so the temperature won't drop in processing and have the smoothie melt down too soon.

A drink blender, blends at a different speed than a regular blender. My regular blender can't really chop ice well. The smoothie blender like the ninja bullet not only whips through ice without a problem, it also blends smooth fairly quickly.

Re: kale smoothies

Mon May 15, 2017 6:20 pm

My Vitamix makes great smoothies, even grinding up nuts and seeds in the smoothies. Here's something I have found out: even in the VM, if the smoothie is too liquidy then some things just bounce off of the blades, and won't totally grind everything up, even on the high speed. So be sure to make them very thick, at first, then add any water or juice. Pieces of ice will also bounce around like that, if not enough is put in to thicken it.